Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Re: Edu to Stoke

There's no need for me to hold a certain nugget any further and I know you're all on edge for what will happen over the final 10 days of the summer transfer window. Thus, I will share exactly what I know of this no-longer-secret Stoke City variable in the Maurice Edu scene.

You may recall, I've previously reported that EPL clubs had been among those sizing up the Rangers midfielder. Put simply, I will now confirm that Stoke City has indeed been in the Edu crowd for a time.

However, I cannot at this time tell you whether Stoke has put an offer on the table or if they're closing on a deal. They may well be, so I'm trying to find out.

So to summarize: Yes, you can definitely go ahead and believe they want him. Beyond that distinct line, I flat out do not know yet.

14 comments:

I can't help but think Edu is better than Championship caliber... Maybe I'm wrong, but would like to see him in a top league. (That said, Championship is probably more competitive than Scotland overall).

I guess it's good. Slightly ironic that he's leaving the SPL only to go to the Barclay's shiningest example of Scottish direct ball. I'd like to echo some of the concerns about Stoke as a place for development, but hey, as long as he gets playing time.

All signs point to any Deuce move going down to the wire. If Liverpool really wanted him, they would have bought him by now. They either can't agree on a price or have lost interest. There's been a blizzard of rumors, speculation, and conjecture, making it near impossible to pick out the flakes of truth, but it seems likely that LFC is holding out for Fulham to cave and sell for lower. The other possibility is that a fee is agreed and they're just working on terms on the down low, but with everyone watching so closely, such a major development could not go unnoticed. The only certainty in this debacle is the harm to Clint's career. He's not only losing match fitness and jeopardizing his place with the USMNT for upcoming qualifiers, he'll have a lot of face-saving to do if he has to return to FFC with his tail between his legs. That's not the worst thing in the world, especially when the presumably more favorable truth reveals itself, but I fear this whole thing will have become such a distraction it has the potential to disrupt his entire club season. Let's hope that doesn't happen.

As I have said before, it was Fulham who told Dempsey he should not train with the first team with everything going on. The entire concept that he is on strike or refused to play to force a move is a UK tabloid concoction sparked by Jol the thespian.

Greg, I never believed Jol's histrionic whining. I always assumed he was told to train alone because FFC had decided to sell him and didn't want to risk damaging the merchandise. That said, it does seem no one has made an acceptable bid. This is where I reiterate my "5 months older than RVP" gripe/expression of disbelief. Again, Clint's not RVP (to the contrary, he's got a cleaner injury record!), but no one's demanding 24 million pounds for him either. I can't believe no one's snapped him up. On the other hand, who knows what Fulham is telling his potential suitors.

I've spent most of the summer thinking that Edu would be a great fit at Newcastle, actually. They have a surprising number of creative, attack-minded midfielders, but haven't had that steady, controlling anchor. Well, until they signed Vurnon Anita. Bastards ruined my prognostications.

But another point: let's chill out with all the demanding-more-info bit. We all know that Greg is going to tell us all that he knows when the time is appropriate and no sooner than that. Fishing for clues and hints just gets us more frustrated. Besides, we know that Dempsey will either move or not move within the next 9 days. That ain't so long. So relax. I promise that the answer is coming.

Thanks, I was just about to try and shame Greg into revealing more about Dempsey with my Reese Bobby kernel of truth that "if you ain't first, you're last" and then you come up with that rational thought that we should all just relax.

Who is NSC?

NSC is run by Greg Seltzer (MLSsoccer.com), who has reported on soccer across the globe since 2001, covering MLS, U.S. Men, Women & Youth national teams, World Cup, Gold Cup, U-20 World Cup, the UEFA European Championship, UEFA Champions League and Europa League, UEFA Cup, CONCACAF and UEFA qualifiers, Premiership, Bundesliga, Eredivisie, various second-tier leagues, domestic cups and international friendlies.